Miniature dry reed relay crosspoint matrix package



J. D. BEIERLE Dec. 20, 1966 MINIATURE DRY REED RELAY CROSSPOINT MATRIXPACKAGE Filed Feb. 24, 1965 INVENTOR United States Patent 3,293,502MlNIA-TURE DRY REED RELAY CROSS- POINT MATRIX PACKAGE John D. Beierle,Wheaten, Ill., assignor to Automatic Electric Laboratories, Inc.,Northlake, HH., :1 corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 24, 1365, Ser. No.434,960 3 Claims. (Cl. 317112) This invention relates to a matrixpackage of crosspoint switching elements of the reed relay type, inwhich the electrical connections are effected by printed circuittechniques.

In United States Patent. 3,030,451, there is disclosed a reed relaymatrix arrangement employing two U-shaped frames, each having sets ofconductors printed thereon. On one frame there are vertical sets ofconductors, and on the other frame there are horizontal sets ofconductors. The reed relays used in the arrangement are mounted betweenand perpendicular to the two frames at the cross points of the verticaland horizontal conductor sets. The relay terminals are placed throughapertures in the frames which also pass through the printed conductorstrips, and the terminals and conductors are interconnected at thesepoints.

Because of the aforementioned way of sandwiching the relays between theframes, the reed relays of the above mentioned patent are notindividually replaceable. If one of the relays has to be replaced, allconnections to one of the cards have to be severed. Also, because of theabove technique used in connecting the relay terminals to theconductors, there will be a problem of aligning the relays with theframes to make the connections.

To solve the foregoing problems of the prior art, an arrangement hasbeen proposed in US. Patent 3,193,731. This arrangement is generallysatisfactory, and in particular it facilitates alignment. However, thisarrangement requires the use of a stacked or composite printed circuitboard. This construction is mechanically more complex. Furthermore,because the cards forming the composite board are placed close to eachother in a front to back manner, in order to reach the inside card, tounsolder or solder the terminals of an individual relay, the outsidecard must have holes somewhat larger than the inside card so as toprovide the necessary accessibility. Also, neither in the above priorart, Patent 3,030,451, nor in Patent 3,193,731, has any provision beenmade for individually replacing the reed capsules.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a reed relaymatrix package wherein the reed relays are placed between printedcircuit cards in such a manner that at least the individual capsules, orthe individual relays, may be replaced without disturbing the otherrelays.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mounting packagerequiring a minimum area which allows for ease of alignment of therelays with respect to two spaced printed circuit cards as the relaysare connected at the various crosspoints of the matrix.

Other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent byreference to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the matrix cardpackage according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the matrix cardpackage according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of another alternative embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a typical circuit for use inconjunction with the matrix card package.

The matrix card package as shown in FIGS. 1-3 comprises a molded plasticsupporting block 13 which is interposed between two printed circuitcards 11 and 12. One card 11 has vertical conductor sets such as VP, VT,VR, VH printed thereon, and the other card 12 has horizontal conductorsets such as HP, HT, HR, HH print-ed thereon. The block 13 and the cards11 and 12 have mutually aligned apertures such as 19, each large enoughto r ceive a relay bobbin of the type shown in FIG. 6. Each bobbin 14houses a plurality of reed capsules, such as a, b, c and together thebobbin 14 and its capsules a, b, 0 form a reed relay. The reed capsulesa, b, c are electrically connected to the printed conductors VP, VT, VR,VH and HP, HT, HR, HH by means of wire straps such as 16 as shown inFIG. 1. A number of techniques may be used to connect the straps 16 tothe capsules at their terminals, such as 31H, 32H, 33H. Two techniquesare shrown in FIG. 1, one 17, using a solder connection, and the other18, using a clip-on type connection.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bobbins such as 14 are horizontally displacedwith respect to the associated vertical sets of conductors such as VP,VT, VR, VH and are vertically displaced with respect to the associatedhorizontal sets of conductors such as HP, HT, HR, HH. This positioningof the bobbins locates them adjacent the crosspoints of the matrixformed by the aforementioned conductors, and in such a manner that theyin no way physically interfere with these conductors and vice versa. Tofacilitate this arrangement the terminals such as 31V, 32V, 33V of thereed capsules such as a, b, c, housed in the bobbins such as 14 and theterminals, such as 24 and 25 of the windings, wound on the bobbins, areindividually connected by wire straps such as 27 to the appropriatecorresponding conductors such as VH.

In the embodiment in FIG. 3, the supporting block 13 and printed circuitcards 11 and 12 are designed with apertures such as 19 of a sufiicientsize to receive the bobbins Zuch as 14 which house the reed capsulessuch as a,

The above mentioned location of the bobbins and the above mentioneddesign of the apertures for receiving the bobbins, enables the bobbinsor the reed capsules, as the case may be, to be individually replaced.if a failure should occur, without disturbing the remaining bobbins orcapsules in the package.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the bobbins such as 14 are positionedgenerally diagonally with respect to the horizontal and verticalconductors such as VP, VT, VR, VH and HP, HT, HR, HH so as to minimizethe amount of space required by the matrix as a whole. Moreparticularly, the aforementioned arrangement permits minimum spacingbetween adjacent vertical conductor sets and also between adjacenthorizontal conductor sets.

Furthermore, a minimum spacing is made possible between individualparallel conductors, such as VP and VT or HP and HT because, althoughconductors are displaced relatively to the mounting areas of theindividual relay there is no need for larger holes and lanes or pads inone card as would be required for the outside cards of a multi-layermatrix card arrangement. Therefore, a relatively high packaging densityis obtainable according to the techniques of the present invention.

It should be understood, of course, that crosspoint relays comprising adifferent number of reed capsules may require a different array of thecapsules within the bobbin and a different orientation of the bobbin.

An alternative arrangement according to the invention is disclosed inFIGS. 6 and 4 of the drawings. As will be seen from FIG. 6, the matrixcard package, according to this embodiment, also comprises a moldedplastic block 13 which is interposed between two printed circuit cards11 and 61. One of the cards 11 has vertical conductor sets printedtheron, and the other card 61 has horizontal conductor sets printedthereon such as HP, HT, HR, HH. However, in this version of the matrixcard package, only one of the cards 11 which has the physical design andthe conductor layout shown in FIG. 2, has apertures such as 60 largeenough to receive and pass the bobbins such as bobbin 14. The other card61 has apertures such as 64 large enough only to receive the individualterminals such as 31H, 32H, 33H of the reed capsules such as a, b, c. Asshown in FIGS. 6 and 4 these apertures 64 pass through the printedconductors on card 61, and the corresponding capsule terminals 31H, 32H,33H are individually connected directly to the respective conductors onthis card. At the other end the capsule terminals 31V, 32V, 33V areelectrically connected to the conductors by strapping wires like thoseshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 6 this arrangement allows the bobbins to be spacedvertically closer, thus less area is needed for the overall matrixpackage. It will also be noted that in this embodiment the bobbins canbe individually removed from one end only of the matrix package, namelythe far end as viewed in FIG. 6. However, in many instances removal fromone side is all that is required.

FIG. 5 shows an arrangement according to the invention whereby the reedcapsules alone are individually replaceable. Here the supporting block53 is as large in width as the bobboin 14, including its flanges, islong. The printed circuit cards 41 and 42 once again have vertical andhorizontal condutor sets thereon, respectively, and the supporting block53 is positioned between the cards 41 and 42. However, as in the instantcase the flanges of bobbin 14 are interposed between the cards, and thebobbin itself cannot be removed without removal of one of the printedcircuit cards.

The assumption underlying this version of the matrix card package isthat the bobbin, or the winding thereon, or diode 52 will become damagedor break down much more infrequently than the reed capsules and thatthereforeit will suffice to make provision for the individualreplacement of the reed capsules a, b, c.

This embodiment may also be constructed so that the reed capsules a, b,can only be removed from one end of the matrix card package. If this isdesired, card 41 will be designed the same as, or similar to, card 61 ofFIG. 4. With this construction, only the reed capsules a, b, c will beindividually removable, namely to the left only as viewed in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a typical circuit that may be usedin conjunction with the matrix card package as previously presented.

As shown in FIG. 7, the pull leads VP and HP are connected throughwinding 1 of the relay by a back feed preventing diode 52. Physically,this diode 52 may be placed in a number of positions. One such positionis shown in FIG. 1. Here the diode 52 is placed outside the matrix cardpackage where it can be permanently mounted by means of pins. Analternative mounting arrangement is shown in FIGS. and 6, where thediode 52 is placed on the outside of the winding of the relay bobbin 14,within the area defined by the flanges of the bobbin 14. These are onlytwo of many techniques which may be lused for mounting diodes such as52. The hold leads VH, HH are connected through winding 2 of the relayand the relay contacts 3 in series. The VT, HT and VR, HR leads areconnected through relay contacts 5 and 4 respectively, as shown.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes andmodifications may be made without departing from this invention in itsbroadest aspects and therefore the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such changes and modifications as in the true spirit and scopeof this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A reed relay crosspoint matrix package comprising in combination: aplurality of relay bobbins, one at each of the crosspoints of saidmatrix, each said bobbin having a plurality of reed capsules withterminals extending therefrom; two printed circuit cards of insulatingmaterial having apertures therethrough and disposed perpendicularly toand at the two ends, respectively, of said bobbins; a support structurepositioned between said cards for supporting both said bobbins and saidcards; the apertures of said cards being aligned with the correspondingbobbins, with the apertures of at least one of said cards being of asize sufiicient to pass at least said capsules, and one of said cardshaving sets of generally rectilinear and mutually parallel verticalconductors and the other of said cards having sets of generallyrectilinear and mutually parallel horizontal conductors printed thereon;the conductor set on at least said one card being laterally spaced fromand clearing said apertures; and means for electrically interconnectingsaid terminals to said conductors.

2. A reed relay crosspoint matrix package comprising in combination: aplurality of bobbins having windings wound thereon, one bobbin at eachof said crosspoints, each said bobbin having a plurality of reedcapsules with terminals extending therefrom; two printed circuit cardsof insulating material having apertures therethrough; said cards beingdisposed perpendicularly to and at the two ends, respectively, of saidbobbins, the apertures of said cards being aligned with thecorresponding bobbins, and the apertures of at least one of said cardsbeing of a size suificient to pass said bobbins; a support structurepositioned between said cards and having apertures aligned with saidapertures in said cards, for receiving said bobbins, said supportstructure supporting both said bobbins and said cards; one of said cardshaving sets of generally rectilinear and mutually parallel verticalconductors and the other of said cards having sets of generallyrectilinear and mutually parallel horizontal conductors printed thereon;the conductor sets on at least said one card being laterally spaced fromand clearing said apertures in said card; and strapping means forelectrically interconnecting said terminals to said conductors on saidcard, whereby, upon disconnection of the corresponding strapping means,said bobbins may be individually removed from said package.

3. A reed relay crosspoint matrix package comprising in combination: aplurality of bobbins having windings wound thereon, one bobbin at eachof said crosspoints, each said bobbin having a plurality of reedcapsules with terminals extending therefrom; two printed circuit cardsof insulating material having apertures therethrough; said cards beingdisposed perpendicularly to and at the two ends, respectively, of saidbobbins, and the apertures of said cards being aligned with thecorresponding bobbins and being of a size suificient to pass at leastsaid capsules; a supporting block of insulating material positionedbetween said cards and having apertures aligned with said apertures insaid cards for receiving said bobbins, said block supporting both saidbobbins and said cards; one of said cards having sets of generallyrectilinear and mutually parallel vertical conductors and the other ofsaid cards having sets of generally rectilinear and mutually parallelhorizontal conductors printed thereon; the conductor sets on said cardsbeing laterally spaced from and 5 6 clearing said apertures in saidcards; and strapping means OTHER REFERENCES for electricallyinterconnecting said terminals to said con- D ductors, whereby, upondisconnection of the correspond- IBM Technlcal Disclosure Buuetln, Webb,ing strapping means, said capsules may be individually gable SolderlessComponent, vol. No. 3, page 244, Aug. removed from said package. 5 9

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,148,356 9/1964Hedden 317-101 3,188,423 6/1965 Glenner et al. 317-101 10 ROBERT K.SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner.

M. GINSBURG, Assistant Examiner.

1. A REED RELAY CROSSPOINT MATRIX PACKAGE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: APLURALITY OF RELAY BOBBINS, ONE AT EACH OF THE CROSSPOINTS OF SAIDMATRIX, EACH SAID BOBBIN HAVING A PLURALITY OF REED CAPSULES WITHTERMINALS EXTENDING THEREFROM; TWO PRINTED CIRCUIT CARDS OF INSULATINGMATERIAL HAVING APERTURES THERETHROUGH AND DISPOSED PERPENDICULARLY TOAND AT THE TWO ENDS, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID BOBBINS; A SUPPORT STRUCTUREPOSITIONED BETWEEN SAID CARDS FOR SUPPORTING BOTH SAID BOBBINS AND SAIDCARDS; THE APERTURES OF SAID CARDS BEING ALIGNED WITH THE CORRESPONDINGBOBBINS, WITH THE APERTURES OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CARDS BEING OF ASIZE SUFFICIENT TO PASS AT LEAST SAID CAPSULES, AND ONE OF SAID CARDSHAVING SETS OF GENERALLY RECTILINEAR AND MUTUALLY PARALLEL VERTICALCONDUCTORS AND THE OTHER OF SAID CARDS HAVING SETS OF GENERALLYRECTILINEAR AND MUTUALLY PARALLEL HORIZONTAL CONDUCTORS PRINTED THEREON;THE CONDUCTOR SET ON AT LEAST SAID ONE CARD BEING LATERALLY SPACED FROMAND CLEARING SAID APERTURES; AND MEANS FOR ELECTRICALLY INTERCONNECTINGSAID TERMINALS TO SAID CONDUCTORS.